


Fated Progression

by simply_kim



Category: One Piece
Genre: Destinies collide, M/M, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:27:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28590267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simply_kim/pseuds/simply_kim
Summary: Out of all the people he encountered, dead or alive, his face is the one he has never forgotten.He's still wondering whether or not this is a good thing.
Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Comments: 8
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**PAPER**

* * *

The town seemed to have upped and moved. That's the only explanation he could think of at the moment. 

He had been walking all morning, but he couldn't seem to find the way to town from the dark (and frankly creepy) forest. For the life of him, he couldn't understand how Yosaku and Johnny managed to get lost, considering they were travelling together for a few days now. 

No good byes, no nothing. It was ridiculous. They just vanished after giving him a stack of new wanted posters of outlaws from around the world. 

Sighing, he spied a large rock (it looked very familiar) and plopped on it unceremoniously. He winced as his hipbone was jarred by its hard semi-flat surface. 

Town be damned. He was _**so**_ going to rest. His feet were killing him. Idly, he rifled through the stack of slightly scrunched paper and stared at the pictures of wanted men (and occasionally, women). 

_Is it a requirement for pirates to look like unkempt maniacs?_ He mused. _All the ones I hunted for bounty either have bulging googly eyes or hairy sallow skin._

He had been wondering about it for quite a while now, actually. The ones in East Blue were particularly unpleasant. Sometimes, even more than the ones in the Grand Line. 

Roronoa Zoro's brows furrowed as he scanned the rest of the bundle. Suddenly, his focused gaze zeroed in on the 69th poster. It was for a wanted pirate, but this one was quite different.

He had never seen anyone who could make a black and white spotted hat look decent. Most of the pirate's face was shadowed by the brim, but the tip of the nose and the smug smirk twisting the mouth were visible. The soft-looking lips in particular were... disconcerting yet fascinating. 

He scanned the rest of the pirate's features and his eyes flickered towards the long sword (probably strapped) on the person's back. Zoro's eyes glowed in amazement. 

_A nodachi! It has been a long time since I last saw one!_ His gaze glimmered in delight. _Is it his? Is he a real swordsman? I hope it's not just a prop - that'd be a huge letdown..._

"ZORO-BRO!" 

A hand suddenly snatched the stack of papers from him. Startled, he straightened up with a growl. Upon realizing who disturbed his peace, annoyance coloured his features. 

"Where the hell have you two been? You got lost!"

Yosaku's eyes were red from crying and Johnny's face was contorted in agony. Zoro didn't know why, but they just crowded him into a desperate hug and then started dragging him towards the other direction.

"Wait, you two, that's not the right way!" Protesting through it all, Zoro couldn't keep his mind off the man on the poster, his smug smile, and his kooky hat.

* * *

**ENDE**


	2. INTRIGUE

* * *

They were dead.

They were already dead when he arrived. The momentary burst of grief from the lot of the couple's friends morphed into absolute hate for the bounty hunter who hacked them mercilessly. 

This was what he hated about being an underground doctor: the drama.

He already went through a lifetime's supply of it, so pirate or not, he was not keen on witnessing such each and every time a patient dies on his watch.

Still, he couldn't help wondering who had the audacity to kill Crocodile's lackeys (officer agents, they called them - whatever that means). 

A small smile crept into his face as he calmly walked away. 

"What a brave little shit." 

Trafalgar Law agreed to extend one-time assistance to the warlord's precious Baroque Works in exchange for some information on his fellow _Shichibukai_. Now that the people whom he should be saving were dead, what was he supposed to do? He wasn't sure he'd be able to acquire the insider news he coveted despite the non-breach of verbal contract.

He sighed, sitting down thoughtfully on a nearby bench. _What do I do now?_ He wondered defeatedly. _This is my last lead on Smile._

"Penny for your thoughts, Dr. Trafalgar?" 

Startled, he gave the newcomer a withering look, curling his lips in distaste. "Miss All Sunday- _ya,_ I presume?" He drawled. 

"Excellent deduction from an excellent man." She chuckled darkly. 

"Not so excellent, considering the patients were dead upon my arrival. Should I offer my condolences?" He sniped sarcastically. 

Miss All Sunday waved a dismissive hand with a sultry giggle. "No need, Dr. Trafalgar." She gave him an envelope filled with... something. "They can be replaced."

The callousness of her words were not lost on him. "Not too fond of them, are you?" Law snorted. "What's that, some sort of letter bomb for a failure?"

"It's not a failure if you didn't touch them, doctor- _san_. That's Mr. Zero's part of the bargain."

"I didn't hold up my end. I was late."

She shook her head. "No, it was inevitable. After all, it was the Demon of East Blue who sliced them up."

_A demon? In East Blue?_

Now **THAT** was intriguing. 

Law raised a questioning brow as he reached out to take the envelope from her. "I heard it's some sort of pirate hunter, not a demon."

"A moniker." She smiled. "Similar to 'Surgeon of Death', really." 

At that, Law couldn't help chuckling. "The titles given⁹ by the marines are becoming more ridiculous as of late." 

"Indeed - it does the job of terrorizing people, though." 

He snorted once again as he slipped the envelope in his coat pocket. "I wonder what the idiotic bastard who laid hands on your people looks like to be called such."

Miss All Sunday's eyes turned glassy - thoughtful. "I haven't seen him personally, but I heard the demon child uses three swords and is quite powerful." She mused. "Unusual fellow. They said he killed them simply because they disagreed to his proposition of becoming the boss".

This time, laughter escaped Law's lips. "The horror."

"Exactly." She nodded with a cheeky grin and started walking away with a sway of her hips. "See you around, Doctor- _san_!"

Now he was even more intrigued. The ideas in his head forming into a possible facsimile of what the bounty hunter looked like. He must be a complete monster.

Pity he wouldn't be able to see him in person. 

* * *

**ENDE**


	3. REGRETS

* * *

Zoro was not someone who regrets past actions. He believed that everything happens for a reason - that events ultimately create a bigger picture by itself regardless of interference. He believed that interventions were pointless in the grand scheme of things. 

He believed in Fate.

The cook once asked him earlier if he believed in God - that time when they were stunned over the state of their previously captive captain in Loguetown. He brushed it off since it was too soon to recalibrate his ideals fully after what he had just witnessed.

He was caught in a moment of weakness... in a spiritual crisis.

At that point, he was willing to believe anything.

 _Damn clowns and their grudges._ He grumbled inwardly as he stood guard in Merry's crows nest with binoculars in hand. 

It was at that particular moment in the plaza, when Luffy said his good byes at the pressing reality of dying by the red-nosed shithead's cutlass, that regret flowed freely inside Zoro. The deluge of emotions scraped out by the "if onlys" flooded his mind as he watched Buggy's sword start to come down swiftly. 

_If only I were faster._

_If only I were stronger._

_If only I were better at finding my way._

Then it wouldn't have come to a head, wherein the captain he swore to follow would end up with his head on the chopping block in the same place Gold Roger was executed twenty years ago.

Although things got resolved by lightning in the end (though he didn't think it was something natural - hence the cook's faltering question), vestiges of regret still sat in a small lump in his gut.

 _I_ _t's a good motivation to excel_ , he thought. Not that he was lacking motivation in the first place, but it won't be too bad having some extra push during lazy days. 

Zoro sighed, nixing the binoculars in favour of scanning the now-clear horizon with his naked eyes. Sometimes he really wondered whether or not it's a good thing for him to be on this ship. At the rate things were going, he would probably end up dead from stress by the time he turned twenty. 

He had a feeling it would be worthwhile, though. After all, unpredictability builds innovation, uncertainty breeds courage, and adversity nurtures tenacity and toughness. In the grand scheme of all things, realistically speaking, they were the most necessary. In the real world, the world outside their comfort zones, only the strong ones remain. 

Fate brought him here with this odd mix of independent individuals (yes, even Usopp), so he will persevere. 

_It isn't that bad, really._ Apart from being suddenly slung every which way by their rubber captain and swindled by their witch of a navigator, he was actually having fun. 

He grinned fondly at his crew's antics. Sometimes he felt like he was living with precocious children. Sometimes, even he had his childish moments. It was all in good fun, though. Entertaining, even.

"Oi, Marimo! Get down from there right now! Nami-swan has instructions!" 

_Good feeling's gone._ His grin instantly melted into a frown. The perverted cook grated on his nerves sometimes. His hands twitched involuntarily as he envisioned him throwing the blonde overboard during a storm. _Oh, what I would do to have just one chance to do that._

Well, of course he wouldn't. Unless Swirly pushed too many buttons. They were nakama after all. That, and the guy's pretty good at selecting alcohol for Zoro's consumption. He would definitely regret it if he hurled him into the turbulent waves of a stormy sea. 

"Oi! C'mon you shitty algae!"

"Shut up, Dartbrow! I'll be down in a bit!"

"You better!"

Zoro groaned, rubbing a hand on his face in annoyance. He might as well go down - he was getting thirsty anyway. There's a _sake_ bottle with his name on it in the galley rack. 

It took him three rope ladder steps and a free-fall to stand solidly on deck. Merry's lookout wasn't too high up so it was easy for him to climb back down. _Easy peasy_. He mused, eyes scanning the area before finding his way to the kitchen. With a nod of satisfaction, he ventured lazily to where the rest of his crew were. He found them seated and listening intently to whatever it was Nami was saying. 

Quietly, so as not to disturb the serious atmosphere, he slipped into his usual place at the dining area. He was about to ask what they were talking about when his gaze landed on the newspaper haphazardly strewn on the table. 

Zoro's heart skipped a beat as the sight of the familiar black and white hat stood out prominently against a darkened background. The question died in his throat as his eyes stared at the newly-released wanted poster.

The _nodachi_ was nowhere to be seen in the shot, but now, he could see the pirate's unshadowed left eye. The intensity of the gaze gnawed on his gut and he could feel the hairs on the nape of his neck stand on end. This was the first time in more than a year that he had seen the man's other usually hidden features. Every time he saw his updated bounty, the only parts of his face visible were his lips and the tip of his long straight nose. Briefly, he wondered if this has some sort of significance - a sly reveal, perhaps?

"Earth to Zoro!" Nami flicked his forehead repeatedly to get his attention. "Are you listening?"

"Uh..." He started in confusion. "Yes? ... Maybe?" 

Nami's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Uh, no. Sorry. Distracted." 

Their navigator glanced at the papers to her left and her eyebrows rose in curiosity. "I can see that." She turned back to Zoro and glared. "Forget the Grand Line doctor for a while and - "

Now that was a shock. "He's a pirate." Zoro said incredulously, eyes wide in surprise. 

Nami rolled her eyes in exasperation. "He's both, idiot. Now stop being impressed by some creepy outlaw for a bit and listen to me! This is important!"

_He's **not** creepy._

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. Stop nagging." Zoro put up his hands in surrender, huffing in irritation as he settled as comfortably as he could in his wooden seat. Luffy and Usopp were snickering, making him feel even more defensive. He gave them the meanest look he could muster before he turned back to their navigator and tuned out the cook's litany of her perfection that he should instead be impressed with.

Zoro did his best to focus on her revelations about Reverse Mountain (that he couldn't quite believe), but he couldn't help his eyes straying towards the wanted poster. 

**_Trafalgar Law._ **

Zoro couldn't seem to shake his image off. There was something about the man that called to a part of him he couldn't name. 

It's just too bad that hey havent crossed each other's paths as of yet. He wanted to see him in person - wanted to talk to him even. He wanted to know why. Maybe even spar with him and his dangerous-looking _nodachi_.

If they never do, he would probably regret it all his life. 

* * *

**ENDE**


	4. DESERT

* * *

It wasn't his style to abandon people.

In fact, he hated it. 

I must be the D in him that made him loyal to a fault. The "Loyalty Gene", his late father playfully said as an answer to why their grandparents grew old together. An answer his late mother swatted him for, insisting it was because of something else - something more potent. 

Law's eyes glazed upon the warm memories of his precious family. After a few moments, he shook his head. There was no point lamenting over such things. Nostalgia was not welcome in times like this. He was a pirate for heaven's sake. 

Using his _nodachi_ to help him stand up, he winced as he felt his left knee cap throb. _Damn Marines_. He gritted his teeth. Of all the times to ambush them, it had to be after a deathmatch. _Thank you, Kikoku. You saved my sorry ass today._

Maybe it was only his imagination, but he swore his _katana_ rung in tired, but warm, reply. Law may be a doctor, but he knew that not everything can be thoroughly explained by logic. He wouldn't put it past _Kikoku_ to shake things up by manifesting, cursed sword that it was. 

They won by a hair's breadth.

His mutinous crew sold him out to the government. It was just pure luck that gave him enough warning to devise a straightforward counterattack. They wanted to kill him, take his bounty while posing as hunters, and then take the newly-built submarine. _It has not even been christened yet._

From a crew of almost a fifty, he was now left with nothing but four.

Including himself.

He watched as Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin tie and bag body parts in shambles with the heads sticking out so the captives could breathe. 

They will leave them in their old beat-up ship to aimlessly float out to sea while they dive underwater in the submarine. It will be difficult, and at some point, Law wondered if it was a good idea to traverse the Grand Line with only four people. However, he couldn't bear the thought of seeing his loyal crewmates lost. They couldn't go back to North Blue without him anyway - too risky. 

He sighed. _I can't desert them, dammit._

**x x x x x x**

Law remembered how he got wind of the devious plan, and a small smile touched his lips. If not for Kikoku's strap breaking, he would've ignored the copy of the day's newspaper laying haphazardly on the floor.

At that time, his irritated gaze caught an inked photograph sticking out of the pages. Curious, he stooped over and picked it up. _What an idiotic smile._ His eyes narrowed at the grinning face staring back at him from a new wanted poster. _His crew is probably more of an idiot, seeing how they follow this goofy kid around._

To some degree, he was reminded of the one who took care of him - the same one who had died a long time ago. _They have the same stupid smile._ He mused. He imagined the boy with a burning shirt awkwardly making a peace sign, and he couldn't shake the image off. _They're very similar, Cora-san and this... Monkey D. Luffy person._

_**D.** _

The doctor felt phantom icy fingers whisper down his spine. They shared the same secret name... except this one was not keeping his under wraps. Now he really knew how much of an idiot the other pirate captain was. _No instinct for self-preservation._ Similar to the shitty flaming human from Whitebeard's crew whom he encountered a couple of islands ago. _The other stupid D._

He was disowning him if all people with the name D were somehow part of one grand family. _I want nothing to do with him._ He deadpanned.

Silently, he swore never to go down the same path. He was better off with less government intervention. _Less Marines, less trouble._

Law shook his head exasperatedly and let the flyer drop. Stooping down with the intent on picking up his _nodachi_ , he noticed another flyer sticking out of the next page. 

Snatching Kikoku and propping it up on his shoulder, he crouched down to investigate. With a frown, he tugged at the page's ear and was surprised to find not an advertisement for a floating casino, but another wanted poster. 

_60,000,000 Beri._

A shudder went through him as he followed the numbers and letters up towards the photograph of a serious unforgettable face. 

_He's strong_. That, Law was certain. His left hand clutched at his sword, feeling it thrum in anticipation.

This man was undoubtedly a dangerous fellow. Those were eyes of someone who has seen death and destruction. It was a sidelong glance caught in a shot, but the deadly gaze coupled with the beginnings of a snarl on the man's lips was a picture of promised retribution held back by sheer willpower.

It was the expression of a natural-born killer with a purpose, let loose on a battlefield. 

**_Roronoa Zoro._ **

The man's background provided for a glimpse of the catastrophic situation. It was a fierce battle in a desert country - the dust photographed flying around him was a good indication. 

A sudden image of Miss All Sunday waving goodbye last they met flashed in his mind. Scrambling for the newspaper to quench his thirst for further information, he grasped the edges of the gazette and flipped through the pages. He scanned for news on Alabasta hurriedly as if the hounds of Impel Down were set upon him. However, before he was able to find the article he wanted, he spied a few scribbles along the margin of the page. 

'Takeover Today 1445', it said. A small bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.

He went out with the intent to check on the submarine at half-past two in the afternoon but got sidetracked by his sword falling and the wanted posters. That meant right now, it was - 

"Prepare to die, captain." 

**_SHIT._ **

He heard the sound of footsteps and rifles clicking all around him as the muzzle of his first mate's pistol dug painfully into his temple. 

"I hope you have a good reason for this, Roo- _ya_." He said lightly, tilting his head towards the other man. 

"Your bounty and your newfangled craft, of course!" Roo, his current first mate since he lost his first recruit in a Marine attack almost a year ago, laughed obnoxiously.

"Captain!" Came a chorus of horrified voices from the floating hangar, prompting a few of the mutinous lot to train their guns on Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin.

"Stop." He called out sharply, raising a hand to prevent them from coming close. Thankfully, they obeyed. _For once._

Roo laughed hysterically. "Listen to your boss, you shitty lot! Watch him die by my hands! I -"

Law allowed a small smile to steal on his face. "Are you done talking?" 

"What do you -"

" **ROOM**."

**x x x x x x**

_Did they really think I'd just let them do what they want?_ Law snorted at the memory of chopped up limbs and mis-attached body parts swirling in the air. It happened twice - with his former crew and then with the Marines (they were located easily because apparently, his imbecile of a first mate - **former** first mate - forgot to hang up the _den den mushi_ properly after talking to a contact in the next island).

 _Weaklings_. It was one of those times he was glad this was the devil fruit he had eaten. It made things a hell lot more entertaining. 

With a grunt, he hobbled towards the dropped newspaper and scooped it up, wincing as his knee throbbed from the movement. 

He quickly turned to the page he left off and scanned for the pertinent article. He raised his brows in surprise as he read its contents. 

_Color me impressed_. He thought in amusement. _That must've taken a lot of imagination to declare Marines as heroes in this fight. It's a shichibukai we're talking about - their ally. Ha._

"Mugiwara Pirates were involved in the melee... Captain Monkey D. Luffy was seen in a battle with... Crocodile..." There was no mention of the warlord's partner Miss All Sunday. Law wondered fleetingly if she managed to escape. He didn't like her dark humour much, but she seemed like a reliable ally. Maybe he'd be able to recruit her in the future - _**if**_ she was still alive. 

He searched the article for another name. The other person - the bloodied warrior with a calm gaze of a killer. _Where is it? Where... AH_.

 _**/"No, it was inevitable. After all, it was the Demon of East Blue who sliced them up."/** _Miss All Sunday's words came rushing back as he read the rest.

 _He's real -_ _t_ _he Demon of East Blue._

He finally had a face to go with the moniker. 

_So this is what you look like, you brave little shit._ A tendril of excitement wormed its way into his heart. _You really are an idiotic bastard for following a D._

"Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro, huh." He chuckled as he committed the man's face to mind. "Make sure you stay alive long enough for us to meet."

"CAPTAIN!" Bepo hopped over enthusiastically. "All's done! Shall we leave?" 

Law gave the mink a reassuring smile and ruffled his fur. "Let's go. We have to find ourselves better _nakama_."

He handed Bepo his sword and walked leisurely (no need to put stress on his injured knee) towards the dock. 

As exhausting as the day was, it also had its perks.

* * *

**ENDE**


	5. DISTRUST

* * *

Zoro was known for a lot of things - a childhood friend, a brother, a swordsman, a bounty hunter, a pirate - but to all those who personally knew him, he was a loyal friend. 

However, this loyalty did not extend to individuals who haven't given him any reason to trust them. Just because he fully trusted his captain didn't mean that whoever he chose to join the crew would be an instant friend.

_Loyalty is based on complete trust._

He was serious when he said a couple of weeks ago as they sailed away from Alabasta, that he was the last bastion of defense left on this ship. He intended to be such until they all succeeded in achieving their goals. 

This brought him to the issue of Nico Robin.

Getting along with someone who had (time and time again) tried to destroy you and everything you care for was impossible.

Miss All Sunday, as she was previously called, was a puzzle he couldn't solve. She looked completely put together, but there was something about her that made him wary. As if the last piece of a puzzle was a good fit, but taken from a completely different set. An impostor piece, so to speak. 

There was a yawning "otherness" to her that she never bothered to shake off. It made Zoro suspicious, considering she did not take any action to bridge the gap, even if she was going around and trying to curry favours from them by being useful and kind. She was trying too hard. It felt like she was with them out of need, not out of kinship. 

He did not like it one bit.

 _When time comes that she does this crew harm, I will cut her down to protect them_. He swore inwardly. _Even if they regard me as an enemy. I'd rather they be alive and vindictive than dead._

He knew it was only a matter of time. 

It was probably a good thing that he learned to listen to the breath of all things during his bloody fight with Daz Bones. He had enough practice to recognize who's who and what's what in the space around him. Before, he could tell who was walking past depending on their footsteps. Now, he could put a face to those same footsteps with 100% accuracy. Luckily for him, he could also sense things that move soundlessly. 

Like right now.

He swiftly grasped Wadou Ichimonji as he heard the unmistakeable breath of Nico Robin's being. She walked silently like an assassin, what with her uncanny ability to mask her presence enough to surprise anyone. 

Unfortunately for her, it didn't work on him. 

"Don't touch me." He said calmly, opening his eyes just in time to see shock and hurt flash on her face. It was gone in mere seconds, replaced with that deceptively amused smile which he saw as something empty yet calculating. 

"I just wanted to put a coat over you. You might get a cold." She raised the spread-out trench up in supplication. 

"I never get sick. Give it to someone else who needs it." 

Zoro heard her take a deep breath before moving away, settling on the outdoor chair directly across his line of sight. 

He knew that she knew; he did not like it when she was out of his sight. He wanted to know where she was at any given time. Merry was small and she had desecrated it enough at Whiskey Peak. He would never forgive her if she decided to play the traitor card and annihilate half of the crew because he wasn't there to look after them. 

Especially Chopper. 

He did not like the fact that she seemed to be getting quite close to their resident doctor. Chopper didn't need anyone else influencing him and then later breaking his glass heart. The little reindeer had gone through enough pain in his life already.

"You don't trust me, swordsman _-san_." She said ruefully. 

"Ah. You **do** know." He leaned back against the side of the ship, hugging all three swords closer, his body prepared for any onslaught of disembodied hands that might toss them overboard. "Why try buttering me up, then?"

She gave him a thoughtful stare as she leant forward, her elbows and forearms laid flat on the table. Her blouse was cut low enough for him to see the tops of her breasts. 

"Spare me, woman." Zoro cocked his head to the side with a wry grin. "I'm not the cook." 

"Worth a try." She chuckled, sitting up properly in her chair. "I'm figuring out what makes the Demon of East Blue tick. You're the only one who hasn't allowed me to stay. What would it take for you to agree?" 

He sighed exasperatedly. "Look." He stood up leisurely, using Sandai Kitetsu to stabilise his weight as he found his footing. "It's not up to me to agree or disagree. It was the captain's decision, plain and simple. Can't really say no to that." 

"Fair point, swordsman _-san_." 

"No one in their right mind would suddenly trust someone previously allied with a monster who just tried to kill them."

"They did."

"They're idiots."

Robin gave him a long lost look. "Swordsman- _san_..."

"I have my reasons, and I just gave you the most obvious one." Zoro dusted the seat of his pants. "The other one is **that**."

"... That?" She was certainly confused, he could see it on her face, behind the bravado.

"What you call me." 

"... Swordsman- _san_?"

" **THAT**." He snorted, slipping his swords one by one into their holder on his side. 

She stared at him dumbfoundedly, her expression filled with equal parts of disbelief and guilt.

"Even _**you**_ don't believe you belong here." He crossed his arms on his chest, regarding her carefully. "You don't consider yourself our nakama. Why should _**I**_ trust someone who never calls her family members by name?"

He watched as realization dawned on her face. The mention of the word 'family' made her flinch. _Interesting_. He thought, taking note and filing it away in his mind for future reference. Something in him pointed to it as important. 

It took a long tense moment before she tried to justify her words. To Zoro, it was as if she was also doing her best to convince herself. 

"You never call cook- _san_ by name." She said softly. 

"I do call him by name. A lot." He ticked them off with his fingers one by one. "Cook. Swirly. Dartbrow. Perverted Cook. Perverted _Kappa_. Curlique. Curly. Among others. They're all who he is."

He raised a brow and shrugged his shoulders. "You, on the other hand, call us by function only. It's the most impersonal thing you could ever do to people you're in constant close quarters with."

"I..." Robin started, but did not continue.

Zoro could practically hear the wheels in her brain whirring as she fought for a way out. After a full minute of silence, Robin heaved a deep cleansing breath and shook her head as if to clear it. There was a wobble on her lips as she gave him a smile. 

"You remind me of someone sometimes. Full of pride and righteous to a fault. Singlemindedly following his own path. I've only met him thrice but I believe he's a good man." She looked down forlornly. "Like with you, I also wanted to know what makes him tick, but he wouldn't give me an opening." 

"Let me guess, he knows your value but he also doesn't completely trust you."

"I believe so." She laughed softly. "I wanted to pick his brain since he has a brilliant mind, but it wasn't possible. Before the first batch of dance powder was imported into Alabasta based on his information, we never corresponded again."

"Touching." Zoro grinned slyly, despite the irritation he felt about the origin of stupid dance powder that gave Vivi a hell lot of grief. _So they got it because of him, huh. He's not a 'good man' at all, you idiot._ "It sounds like the beginnings of a love story."

Robin tittered in surprise. "No, no. It wasn't like that. I really wanted to get along with him only for knowledge exchange. That's all!"

"Right." He shook his head, amused. "Why don't I believe that?" He jumped backwards and sat on Merry's rails. He let his sudden burst of negative emotion be lulled by their ship's lightly undulating motions. 

"It's purely for the sake of data." She gave him an impish grin. "In fact, the first time we met in person was after _**someone**_ attacked two officer agents as well as their entire entourage two years ago. I told him the truth."

Zoro groaned. "You've got to be kidding me." 

"Still, it was surprising to know that the Surgeon of Death has already heard of the Demon of East Blue. He was quite curious, as was I at that time. We both only knew of your name, notably deadly feats, and the titles the Marines gave you. You're quite famous." She teased.

"Geh. Impossible." His heart skipped a beat. "The pirate captain doctor has heard of me?" He asked incredulously. "How? I was in East Blue at that time!"

Robin watched him curiously. "You have heard of him?"

_**Heard** of him?! I want to **cross swords** with him, that mysterious bastard!_

He feigned nonchalance and shrugged with a scowl. "Nami's subscribed to Grand Line News." 

She seemed to have accepted this reason and nodded good-naturedly. "Maybe we'd come across his ship in the future." 

There was roiling in his gut at the image of Robin standing side by side with his estimation of Trafalgar Law. In his mind, they were flirting in the middle of a ring made of dance powder. A ridiculously annoying picture.

It was an ugly feeling, tar-black and sticky, binding his insides and squeezing his heart painfully. But of course he couldn't show it on his face. He still did not trust this person. Not with his life.

The petty part of him grumbled with something akin to jealousy.

_Even more so now than before._

* * *

**ENDE**


End file.
